Epoch Investment Partners Inc. Lowers Position in CocaCola Company (The) $KO

Key Points

• Epoch Investment Partners trimmed its Coca-Cola stake by 2% in the fourth quarter, though it still held 732,066 shares valued at about $51.2 million.
• Coca-Cola continues to draw broad institutional and analyst support, with hedge funds owning about 70.26% of shares and analysts maintaining a Moderate Buy consensus with an average price target of $86.69.
• The company posted better-than-expected Q1 results, and it also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.53 per share, underscoring its appeal as a defensive income stock.

Epoch Investment Partners Inc. lessened its stake in CocaCola Company (The) (NYSE:KO - Free Report) by 2.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 732,066 shares of the company's stock after selling 14,933 shares during the period. Epoch Investment Partners Inc.'s holdings in CocaCola were worth $51,179,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in CocaCola by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 374,771,512 shares of the company's stock worth $26,200,276,000 after purchasing an additional 5,886,352 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its position in CocaCola by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 167,850,330 shares of the company's stock worth $11,734,417,000 after purchasing an additional 1,992,327 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in CocaCola by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 89,984,203 shares of the company's stock worth $6,273,037,000 after purchasing an additional 433,547 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in CocaCola in the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,865,807,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of CocaCola by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 40,289,857 shares of the company's stock worth $2,816,697,000 after buying an additional 1,195,581 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.26% of the company's stock.

CocaCola News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting CocaCola this week:

• Positive Sentiment: RBC Capital reiterated its buy view on Coca-Cola, reinforcing Wall Street’s generally favorable stance on KO and supporting the stock’s recent strength.
• Positive Sentiment: Several reports highlighted Coca-Cola as a potential beneficiary of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, with expectations that beverage volume and consumer spending could rise during the tournament.
• Positive Sentiment: Market commentary also pointed to strong Q1 results, including an earnings and revenue beat, solid organic growth, and volume gains, which continue to underpin the bullish investment case. Coca-Cola’s Q1 Results Prove It's a Good Buy to Hold and Hold
• Positive Sentiment: Investor interest remains supported by Coca-Cola’s reliable dividend and defensive profile, which continue to attract income-focused buyers.
• Neutral Sentiment: EVP Jennifer K. Mann disclosed a stock sale, but it was conducted under a pre-arranged 10b5-1 plan and tied to equity-award tax withholding, making it less of a concern than discretionary insider selling.

Insider Activity at CocaCola

In related news, Chairman James Quincey sold 436,296 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.13, for a total transaction of $34,960,398.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman directly owned 122,833 shares in the company, valued at $9,842,608.29. This trade represents a 78.03% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, EVP Nancy Quan sold 31,625 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.93, for a total value of $2,559,411.25. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 223,330 shares of the company's stock, valued at $18,074,096.90. This trade represents a 12.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders sold 899,905 shares of company stock worth $71,832,315 in the last three months. 0.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on shares of CocaCola from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, March 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on shares of CocaCola in a research report on Thursday. They set a "market perform" rating and a $84.00 price objective for the company. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of CocaCola from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b+)" rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Morgan Stanley set a $89.00 price objective on shares of CocaCola in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of CocaCola from $87.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, March 16th. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, CocaCola presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $86.69.

CocaCola Stock Up 0.0%

Shares of NYSE:KO opened at $82.63 on Monday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $78.70 and a 200 day moving average price of $75.70. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The company has a market capitalization of $355.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.98, a PEG ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.35. CocaCola Company has a 12-month low of $65.35 and a 12-month high of $84.04.

CocaCola (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $0.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.81 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $12.47 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.24 billion. CocaCola had a return on equity of 40.55% and a net margin of 27.80%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.73 EPS. CocaCola has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.240-3.270 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that CocaCola Company will post 3.26 EPS for the current year.

CocaCola Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th will be given a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. CocaCola's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 66.67%.

CocaCola Profile

The Coca‑Cola Company NYSE: KO is a global beverage manufacturer, marketer and distributor best known for its flagship Coca‑Cola soda. Headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, the company develops and sells concentrates, syrups and finished beverages across a broad portfolio of brands. Its product range spans sparkling soft drinks, bottled water, sports drinks, juices, ready‑to‑drink teas and coffees, and other still beverages, marketed under both global and regional brand names.

Coca‑Cola’s brand portfolio includes widely recognized names such as Coca‑Cola, Diet Coke, Coca‑Cola Zero Sugar, Sprite, Fanta, Minute Maid, Powerade and Dasani, and in recent years the company has expanded into the coffee and premium beverage categories through acquisitions such as Costa Coffee.

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